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The Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio is a Prognostic Biomarker in An Ethnically Diverse Patient Population with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with decreased overall survival in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) in studies including few minority patients. We investigated the association between NLR and survival in patients with advanced PAC in an ethnically diverse population.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated 226 patients with advanced PAC treated at Montefiore Medical Center between 2006 and 2015. Adjusted Cox proportion hazard regression models were utilized to derive effect estimates for survival duration.

Results

Patients with a NLR ≤ 5 (126 patients, median age 66 years) were more likely to be non-Hispanic Black (30.8% vs. 20%), while patients with a NLR > 5 (70 patients, median age 66 years) were more likely to be non-Hispanic White (21.4% vs. 12.2%) or Hispanic (44.3% vs. 34%). A NLR > 5 compared with a NLR ≤ 5 was significantly associated with a worse overall survival when adjusted for a priori and exploratory variables from the univariate analysis (median survival 7.4 vs. 12 months, HR 1.650, 95% CI 1.139, 2.390).

Conclusions

In an ethnically diverse population, elevated NLR is an independent marker of poor prognosis and a potentially valuable factor in driving therapeutic decisions and defining prognosis for patients in the locally advanced or metastatic for PAC setting, meriting investigation in prospective clinical trials.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Abdissa Negassa and Sanjay Goel should be considered as joint senior authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Montefiore Medical Center, 1695 Eastchester Road, Bronx, NY, USA

    Michael Shusterman, Erin Jou, Andreas Kaubisch, Jennifer W. Chuy, Lakshmi Rajdev, Santiago Aparo & Sanjay Goel

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

    Justin Tang & Nitin Ohri

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Bronx, USA

    Abdissa Negassa

  4. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Andreas Kaubisch, Jennifer W. Chuy, Lakshmi Rajdev, Santiago Aparo, Nitin Ohri, Abdissa Negassa & Sanjay Goel

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Correspondence to Sanjay Goel.

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Preliminary analyses and portions of this study were presented as part of an electronic abstract at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2017, Chicago, USA.

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Shusterman, M., Jou, E., Kaubisch, A. et al. The Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio is a Prognostic Biomarker in An Ethnically Diverse Patient Population with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer. J Gastrointest Canc 51, 868–876 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-019-00316-8

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